Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy star in the hit comedy “Identity Thief,” a broadly unfunny farce that is held together only by the charm and skill of its leads — and even then, it’s still not worth it. It’s another bland antagonists-turned-friends action road comedy that doesn’t come close to the best examples of, well, any of those genres. The only thing it’s successful at doing is convincing audiences that McCarthy, an Academy Award nominee for her blowsy “Bridesmaids” turn, can carry a film.

Bateman, playing straight to type, stars as tight-laced businessman Sandy Patterson, who discovers that his credit cards have been maxed out by a scam artist in Florida, played by McCarthy. Through one contrivance or another, he must travel to pick her up himself to clear his name and bring her to justice. But he’s not the only one looking for her, as the two run afoul of a drug lord’s henchmen (T.I. and Genesis Rodriguez) and a bounty hunter (Robert Patrick).

On their mishap-fraught road trip, naturally, some understanding is reached between the two, though McCarthy’s character is better when she’s an unrepentant force of chaos and not as interesting when the movie tries to shade her emotionally. But that’s what kind of movie this is: a sappy backstory, silly attempts at pathos and a distinct lack of things to laugh at, with a distended, undisciplined plot as aimless as the unfortunate journey it depicts. I know “Midnight Run.” “Midnight Run” is a friend of mine. “Identity Thief,” you are no “Midnight Run.” $29.98 DVD, $34.98 Blu-ray.

“A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD”

They finally did it. With “A Good Day to Die Hard,” the “Die Hard” series was finally killed dead. For those keeping score at home, the masterpiece “Die Hard” was followed by the pretty good “Die Hard 2,” the very good “Die Hard With a Vengeance” and sputtered a bit 12 years later with “Live Free or Die Hard,” though not in a way that would necessarily prove fatal until … well, this thing: an incoherent hodgepodge of blurs resembling action scenes and Bruce Willis scowling and mumbling studio-mandated catch phrases and a plot, and characters, and actions, and, you know, everything failing in the most basic ways to make sense, much less entertain. (Well, there’s a car chase that’s OK, in the scant moments you can tell what’s happening.)

Director John Moore (2006’s “The Omen,” “Max Payne”) directs Willis, reprising his role as the New York cop who heads to Russia to find his estranged son (though he keeps repeating the phrase “I’m on vacation!” in moments of distress, despite not being on vacation in any way). Little does he know that his son (Jai Courtney of “Jack Reacher”) is a CIA agent embedded in some intrigue involving a Russian dissident (Sebastian Koch) and nuclear weapons.

There are a few reversals and twists, but since nothing made an impression in the first place, it’s hard to care. And when the action isn’t filmed incoherently, it’s presented with a CGI Teflon quality, where clearly nothing is real and therefore the stakes couldn’t be any lower. One looks back at, say, the clear action sequences, smart writing and memorable characters in “Die Hard” and one despairs at how far this franchise has fallen. $29.98 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray.

“WARM BODIES”

Between the popularity of supernatural romance stories and zombie stories, it was only a matter of time before the twain met in “Warm Bodies.” From seemingly cynical, cash-in origins, it’s pretty surprising that “Warm Bodies” is as funny and smartly written as it is, though with writer-director Jonathan Levine (the wonderful “50/50”) adapting Isaac Marion’s novel, perhaps it shouldn’t have been.

Nicholas Hoult stars as R, our protagonist who lost most of his memories and humanity after his death and reanimation as one of the countless zombies roaming post-apocalyptic America. His routine of mindless wandering is interrupted when he runs into a band of human survivors on a foraging mission. Two things happen: He is immediately taken with Julie (Teresa Palmer), and this feeling is amplified when he eats the brain of her boyfriend (Dave Franco). (He is a zombie, after all.) A return of these feelings of humanity compels R to save Julie from the totally emaciated zombie skeletons he calls “bonies” and, perhaps in the process, find a way to light the spark of humanity within his zombie compatriots.

Yet Julie’s father (John Malkovich), the leader of the remaining human settlement, has a strict kill-all- zombies policy, which might be a hindrance for their burgeoning romance. (I’m embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to figure out what the character’s names were referencing, but needless to say she ends up on a balcony and he on the ground below at one point.)

“Warm Bodies” isn’t a particularly innovative entry into the supernatural romance subgenre, and it’s not a revolutionary zombie tale either, but it’s a sturdy marriage of the two fads, nice looking and nicely acted and overall, in a word, nice. And that does the trick. $29.95 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray.

“IT’S A DISASTER”

A comedy of manners set in the most dire of circumstances, “It’s a Disaster” mines laughs out of an apocalyptic situation, finding eight friends gathered for a couples brunch, trapped in the home after an attack on the nation cripples infrastructure and makes going outdoors potentially deadly. The joke is not the event itself so much as these eight characters, who cannot get past their arguments and squabbles, blowing small things out of proportion even in the face of the end of the world and more than likely their deaths.

This is a good time to mention that “It’s a Disaster,” particularly in its second half, caters mostly to those whose sense of humor leans closer to the macabre. But even so, the gags here are tremendously funny, not necessarily from major sight gags or set pieces, but from the pleasure of hearing fine comic actors deliver really good jokes. Its talented cast — including David Cross, Julia Stiles, Erinn Hayes and America Ferrara, along with some faces that may be more unfamiliar — deftly carries a dialogue-heavy film in which the jokes come fast and furious, with no performance standing out as weaker than any other, though of course Cross, being Cross, is a particular standout as the lone outsider in this group.

This marks the emergence of a major talent in writer-director Todd Berger, and it’s a treasure for those who enjoy dark comedy — or, really, any comedy. $29.99 DVD, $34.99 Blu-ray.

About This Blog

“IDENTITY THIEF”

Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy star in the hit comedy “Identity Thief,” a broadly unfunny farce that is held together only by the charm and skill of its leads — and even then, it’s still not worth it. It’s another bland antagonists-turned-friends action road comedy that doesn’t come close to the best examples of, well, any of those genres. The only thing it’s successful at doing is convincing audiences that McCarthy, an Academy Award nominee for her blowsy “Bridesmaids” turn, can carry a film.

Bateman, playing straight to type, stars as tight-laced businessman Sandy Patterson, who discovers that his credit cards have been maxed out by a scam artist in Florida, played by McCarthy. Through one contrivance or another, he must travel to pick her up himself to clear his name and bring her to justice. But he’s not the only one looking for her, as the two run afoul of a drug lord’s henchmen (T.I. and Genesis Rodriguez) and a bounty hunter (Robert Patrick).

On their mishap-fraught road trip, naturally, some understanding is reached between the two, though McCarthy’s character is better when she’s an unrepentant force of chaos and not as interesting when the movie tries to shade her emotionally. But that’s what kind of movie this is: a sappy backstory, silly attempts at pathos and a distinct lack of things to laugh at, with a distended, undisciplined plot as aimless as the unfortunate journey it depicts. I know “Midnight Run.” “Midnight Run” is a friend of mine. “Identity Thief,” you are no “Midnight Run.” $29.98 DVD, $34.98 Blu-ray.

“A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD”

They finally did it. With “A Good Day to Die Hard,” the “Die Hard” series was finally killed dead. For those keeping score at home, the masterpiece “Die Hard” was followed by the pretty good “Die Hard 2,” the very good “Die Hard With a Vengeance” and sputtered a bit 12 years later with “Live Free or Die Hard,” though not in a way that would necessarily prove fatal until … well, this thing: an incoherent hodgepodge of blurs resembling action scenes and Bruce Willis scowling and mumbling studio-mandated catch phrases and a plot, and characters, and actions, and, you know, everything failing in the most basic ways to make sense, much less entertain. (Well, there’s a car chase that’s OK, in the scant moments you can tell what’s happening.)

Director John Moore (2006’s “The Omen,” “Max Payne”) directs Willis, reprising his role as the New York cop who heads to Russia to find his estranged son (though he keeps repeating the phrase “I’m on vacation!” in moments of distress, despite not being on vacation in any way). Little does he know that his son (Jai Courtney of “Jack Reacher”) is a CIA agent embedded in some intrigue involving a Russian dissident (Sebastian Koch) and nuclear weapons.

There are a few reversals and twists, but since nothing made an impression in the first place, it’s hard to care. And when the action isn’t filmed incoherently, it’s presented with a CGI Teflon quality, where clearly nothing is real and therefore the stakes couldn’t be any lower. One looks back at, say, the clear action sequences, smart writing and memorable characters in “Die Hard” and one despairs at how far this franchise has fallen. $29.98 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray.

“WARM BODIES”

Between the popularity of supernatural romance stories and zombie stories, it was only a matter of time before the twain met in “Warm Bodies.” From seemingly cynical, cash-in origins, it’s pretty surprising that “Warm Bodies” is as funny and smartly written as it is, though with writer-director Jonathan Levine (the wonderful “50/50”) adapting Isaac Marion’s novel, perhaps it shouldn’t have been.

Nicholas Hoult stars as R, our protagonist who lost most of his memories and humanity after his death and reanimation as one of the countless zombies roaming post-apocalyptic America. His routine of mindless wandering is interrupted when he runs into a band of human survivors on a foraging mission. Two things happen: He is immediately taken with Julie (Teresa Palmer), and this feeling is amplified when he eats the brain of her boyfriend (Dave Franco). (He is a zombie, after all.) A return of these feelings of humanity compels R to save Julie from the totally emaciated zombie skeletons he calls “bonies” and, perhaps in the process, find a way to light the spark of humanity within his zombie compatriots.

Yet Julie’s father (John Malkovich), the leader of the remaining human settlement, has a strict kill-all- zombies policy, which might be a hindrance for their burgeoning romance. (I’m embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to figure out what the character’s names were referencing, but needless to say she ends up on a balcony and he on the ground below at one point.)

“Warm Bodies” isn’t a particularly innovative entry into the supernatural romance subgenre, and it’s not a revolutionary zombie tale either, but it’s a sturdy marriage of the two fads, nice looking and nicely acted and overall, in a word, nice. And that does the trick. $29.95 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray.

“IT’S A DISASTER”

A comedy of manners set in the most dire of circumstances, “It’s a Disaster” mines laughs out of an apocalyptic situation, finding eight friends gathered for a couples brunch, trapped in the home after an attack on the nation cripples infrastructure and makes going outdoors potentially deadly. The joke is not the event itself so much as these eight characters, who cannot get past their arguments and squabbles, blowing small things out of proportion even in the face of the end of the world and more than likely their deaths.

This is a good time to mention that “It’s a Disaster,” particularly in its second half, caters mostly to those whose sense of humor leans closer to the macabre. But even so, the gags here are tremendously funny, not necessarily from major sight gags or set pieces, but from the pleasure of hearing fine comic actors deliver really good jokes. Its talented cast — including David Cross, Julia Stiles, Erinn Hayes and America Ferrara, along with some faces that may be more unfamiliar — deftly carries a dialogue-heavy film in which the jokes come fast and furious, with no performance standing out as weaker than any other, though of course Cross, being Cross, is a particular standout as the lone outsider in this group.

This marks the emergence of a major talent in writer-director Todd Berger, and it’s a treasure for those who enjoy dark comedy — or, really, any comedy. $29.99 DVD, $34.99 Blu-ray.